Clothes treating machine with automatic unloading means



E. E. ZIEGLER Jan. 23, 1968 CLOTHES TREATING MACHINE WITH AUTOMATICUNLOADING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed Sept. 16, 1966 CONTROL -60,

m ll y 0 Mw w m m m Efi mm W d Y B I l i Ill| l 5 1 e L4 l F O o 0 mm o5 2% J Jan. 23, 1968 E. E. ZiEGLER 3,364,583

CLOTHES TREATING MACHINE WITH AUTOMATIC UNLOADING MEANS Filed Sept. 16,1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 UNLOAD Edwin E. ZIGQIGI QM/QM Attorney UnitedStates Patent Ofilice a 3,354,58 Patented Jan. 23, 1968 3,364,538CLOTHES TREATING la lACHlNE /VlTZ-l AUTOMATIC UNIOADlNG MEANS Edwin E.Ziegler, Glen Ellyn, Ill., assignor to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Filed Sept. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 58%,686 8 Claims.(Cl. 34-56) ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLQSURE A clothes treating machine has aclothes receiving drum rotatable on a horizontal axis and with an accessopening at one end. Vanes are provided on the peripheral wall of thedrum and at least one vane includes a first side parallel to the axis ofrotation and a second side skewed with respect to the axis of rotation.When the drum is rotated in one direction the first side will causetumbling of the clothes with no appreciable axial movement. When thedrum is rotated in the other direction the second side will cause theclothes to move axially toward the access opening.

It is an object of my invention to provide a clothes treating machinewith a horizontally rotatable drum wherein the clothes may beautomatically unloaded from the drum at a desired time.

A further more specific object of my invention is to form at least oneof the clothes tumbling vanes conventionally provided within such drumswith a special configuration in order to effect the desired unloading.

In carrying out my invention in one form thereof, it is intended to beused in the type of clothes treating machine wherein a generallycylindrical drum, rotatably mot rte on a substantially horizontal axis,is provided for containing clothes to be treated. At one end of tiredrum, there is an access opening so that clothes may be loaded into thedrum and unloaded therefrom at appropriate times, To insure tnat clothestumble properly within the rum so as to expose all surfaces thereof tothe treating medium, there is at least one vane mounted on the innersurface of the cylindrical Wall of the drum. The tumbling is effected bycausing one side of the vane to extend parallel to the axis so that,when the drum is rotated with that side as the leading side of the vane,clothes will be turnbed with substantially no axial motion thereof.

I propose to form the Opposite side of the vane so that, relative to theaxis of rotation, it is skewed in such a manner that drum rotation inthe opposite direction, that is, with the opposite side of the vane asthe leading side thereof, causes axial motion of the clothes toward theaccess opening. To phrase it differently, when the dr rotates in thedirection intended to cause unloading, the top side of the vane, whenthe vane is moving upwardly, should slope down from the back of the drumtowards the front access opening.

Together with this structure, I provide means for selecting thedirection of rotation of the drum so that, alternatively andselectively, the clothes may be tumbled during their treatment or may beunloaded from the drum.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is articularly pointedout and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. My invention, however, both as to organization and methodof operation, together with further objects and advantages hereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

in the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a clothes treatingmachine, specifically a clothes dryer, which incorporates my improvedunloading system;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view along line 22 in FIGURE 1;

EGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective illustrating one form ofvane which may be provided;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view showing a second form of vane which may beused with my invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a schematic illustration of an electrical control circuitsuitable for use in connection with the clothes dryer of FIGURES l and2.

Referring now to FlGURES 1 and 2, the machine illustrated is a clothestreating machine, more specifically a domestic clothes dryer, generallyindicated by the numeral l. Dryer l is provided in the usual way with acabinet 2 having a front door 3 to provide access to the interior of thecabinet for loading and unloading clothes. Mounted on the top wall ofcabinet 2 is a control panel 5 which may include a suitable manualcontrol member 6 connected to a conventional sequence control assemblygenerally shown at do. By manual setting of member t5, the machine iscaused to start and automatically procee through a cycle of operation.

Within cabinet 2, there is provided a clothes tumbling receptacle, ordrum, '7 which constitutes the chamber for receiving fabrics to bedried, and which is moun ed for rotation on a substantially horizontalaxis. Drum 7 is substantially cylindrical in shape and has itscylindrical wall substantially imperforate as shown. On the interiorsurface of th cylindrical wall, there is provided a plurality of clothestumbling ribs or vanes 8. In a manner which will be more fully describedin connection with the specific aspects of my invention, clothes arelifted up by vanes 8 when the drum rotates during a drying operation andare then tumbled back down to the bottom so as to be flexed and so as topresent different surfaces to the heate air effecting the drying.

The front of drum "1" may be supported for rotation within outer casing2 by suitable nylon support pads, one of which is shown at 9. These padsare secured to the outer surface of a flange it which extends inwardlyfrom the front surface ll of cabinet 2 so as to provide a Two pads suchas 9 may be circular frame for door a. provided, one on each side ofdrum 7, so as to provide a stable support for the front thereof. Thecircumferential space between pads may be filled with felt material,such as that shown at 12, so that there will not be openings permittingthe u v...sircd passage of air.

Tie rear end of drum 7 receives its support by means of a stub shaft 13extending t'OIl'l the center of rear Wall is of the drum. Shaft 13secured within a bearing 1 formed in a bafiie 16 which in turn isrigidly secured to the back wall 17 of cabinet 2 by any suitable means,such as, for ance, welding at a number of points 18. With thearrangement shown, the basket may rotate on its horizontal axis withpads providing the front support and stub shaft 13 unhin bearing 15providing the rear support.

in order to pc mit the flow of a stream of drying air through theclothes drum the drum has a circular central aperture 2 9 formed infront Wall The flange 22, is supported by the pads in cam of drying airis permitted 34 of drum through a erforaticns in the pres around therear wall in an one member is rigidly secured Bafiie member 16 alsoserves 3. Elements 23 may be annular in shape so as to be generallycoextensive with the persecond bafiie member 24 acl: wall '14- of drum'7 outside and within the stationary bathe 16, so that an annular airinlet 25 is formed by bafiies and 24. In this manner, air may enterannular inlet between the baffles, pass over the heaters 23, and thenpass through openings 25 formed in baffle 24 to the interior of drum 7.

The front opening 19 of the drum is substantially closed by means of thecooperative relationship of inner surface 27 of door 3 and the inturnedflange 1'9 forming the door frame. Front opening 19, in addition toserving as part of the air flow path through the drum, also serves as ameans whereby clothes may be loaded into and unloaded from the drum.Door 3 is mounted on cabinet 2 so that, when the door is opened, clothesmay be loaded and unloaded through the door frame 10. It will beobserved that the door includes an outer flat imperforate section 28 andan inwardly extending hollow section 29 mounted on the fiat outersection. Hollow section 29 extends into the circular door frame it whenthe door is closed, and the door surface 27 then comprises, asdescribed, the major part of the closure means for the opening 19. Theair outlet from the drum is provided by openings 3i; formed in the innerwall 27 of hollow door section 2?. The bottom of section 29 has anopening 32 formed therein so that, when the door is closed, opening 32is aligned with an inlet opening 33 leading to an exhaust duct 34. Asshown, a lint trap 35 of conventional design may be positioned to seatin the opening 33 so as to be readily removable for cleaning when thedoor 3 is open, and so as to trap lint which is carried off from theclothes by the drying air.

Duct 34 leads downwardly to a blower 3% which is then suitably connectedto an exhaust 37 leading out of the dryer. Blower 36 is directly drivenby an electric motor 33 supported on base 39 of dryer 1. In addition todriving blower 36, motor 38 constitutes the means for effecting rotationof drum 7, being provided on its shaft with a small pulley 40. A belt 41extends around pulley it) and around the cylindrical wall of drum 7. Therelative circumferences of pulley 4G and drum 7 cause the drum to bedriven by the motor at a speed suitable to effect tumbling of theclothes therein.

Thus, the air is pulled into the drum over the heating element, aspreviously described, and then is passed from the drum through theperforations 39 in door 3, into the lint trap 35, duct 34, and blower35, to duct 37. At the same time, the fabrics in the drum are tumbled sothat the heated air passing through the tumbling clothes causesvaporization of moisture from the clothes. The vapor is carried off withthe air as it passes out of the machine.

During a clothes drying operatiointhe drum is rotated counter-clockwise,as viewed in FIGURE 1 and as shown by the arrow pointing upwardly inFIGURE 2. It is to be observed that the leading surface 42 of vane 8(see also FIGURE 3), for this direction of rotation, extends generallyparallel to the axis of rotation of drum 7. As a result, during therotation on the horizontal axis, surface 42 is substantially level.Then, upon further rotation of the drum, the clothes tend to fall awayfrom the outer wall of the drum and down to the bottom thereof.

This action causes flexing of the fabric of the clothes so that allparts of the fabric are exposed to the flow of drying air. This is aconventional operation in dryers of this type. The purpose of the vanestructure is to effect movement of the clothes substantially in a plane,carrying the clothes against the inner surface of the drum for a periodand then permitting them to fall through the drum down to the bottomthereof. No axial motion is provided by the vanes, nor is any desired orintended, since such axial motion would tend to cause a launching actionof the clothes at one end of the drum.

The opposite surface 43 of the vane, that is, the surface which formsthe leading face of the vane during rotation in the opposite direction,is canted or skewed with respect to the horizontal axis of rotation.This skewing is provided such that, for the direction of rotation in"which it is the leading edge, surface 43 slopes downwardly from therear of the drum to the front opening 19 thereof when the particularvane 3 is on the ascending side of the drum. This provides a substantialaxial component of motion to the clothes so that, rather than merelybeing tumbled, they will be moved by the vane from the rear to the frontof the drum when the reverse, or unloading, direction of rotation isprovided as shown by the downward arrow in FIGURE 2 and by the arrow inFIGURE 1.

It will further be noted that, as shown, vane 8 may have a slanted inneredge 8a which extends radially inward to an increasing extent from therear to the front thereof, with the front edge 44 of the vane extendingradially inward at least to, and preferably sli htly into, the opening19. This configuration has the result, when door 3 is open, of causingthe clothes to be moved toward the front of the drum and through theopened door, substantially as shown in FIGURE 1. Thus, with the dooropen, the unloading rotation of the drum causes the clothes to unloadthemselves into any suitable receptacle 45.

In order to cause the drying function and the unloading function to beselectively carried out, any appropriate control circuit may beprovided. A highly simplified schematic of one such circuit is, forinstance, shown in FIG- URE 5 wherein it will be observed that heatingelements 23 and motor 33 are controlled. through the control mechanism6a previously mentioned. This control mechanism may be of any suitabletype, such as time controlled, moisture controlled, temperaturecontrolled, etc.

As is well known in the art, motor 38 is conventionally aninduction-type motor having a rotor 45, a run, or main, winding 46, anda start winding 47. Main winding 46 is normally connected to a pair ofcontacts 48 and 49 in a predetermined relationship to winding 47. Whenmanual switch 56 is depressed, and for as long as it is depressed,contact 48 engages a contact 51, and contact 49 is moved out ofengagement with contact 51 and into engagement with a contact 52. Thisreverses the relationship of the main Winding with respect to startwinding 47. When button St) is not depressed, the motor 38 will start ina predetermined direction, specifically, the direction to cause rotationof the drum counter-clockwise as shown by the arrow marked dry in FIGURE2. If the button 50 is depressed, then the rotation of the drum is inthe opposite direction, that is, in the direction shown :by the arrowmarked unload in FIGURE 2.

Contact 52 bypasses control 6a and is connected through a contact arm 53to one side of the line. The same is true for a contact 56 which is alsoclosed by depressing button 5'0. Contact arm 53 is part of a switchmechanism 54 which also includes a contact 55. When contact arm 53 isopened, arm 55 is closed, and vice versa. Switch 54 is a door switch asshown in FIGURE 1; when door 3 is closed, it is in the position shown inFIGURE 5, and when the door is opened contact arm 55 is opened also andcontact arm 53 is closed. The energization of the motor in a regulardrying operation is controlled through contact arm 55 and the control6a; the operation of the motor in the reverse, or unloading, directionis controlled through contact arm 53. As a result, only the regulardirection of motor rotation, that is, that suitable for providingtumbling of the clothes may be effected with the door closed. On theother hand, with the door opened, regular tumbling of the clothes maynot be provided, and operation of the motor in the unloading directioncan be provided only as long as button 5% is depressed.

In order to obtain the advantage of my inventive concept, it is merelynecessary after the completion of the drying operation to open the door3 and place a receptacle in front of the opening 19. Button is thendepressed, and as previously described, the skewed relationship ofsurface 43 of vane 8 to the horizontal axis of rotation of the drumcauses the vane to guide the clothes into the opening so that they willbe tumbled out through opening 19 into receptacle .5. Of course, whileit is preferred that all vanes 8 be formed as described in order to minimize the length of time required for an unloading operation, theunloading may be effected even though fewer than all of the vanes havethe special configuration described.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is shown a second embodiment of myinvention in which a vane 80 is provided having, as before, a surface42, parallel tothe horizontal axis of rotation for effecting normaltumbling, and a surface 43 skewed relative to the horizontal axis ofrotation for effecting unloading. Vane 8 3, however, has a relativelyflat inner edge formed by a surface 81 which is the same height overalmost the full length of drum 7. Near the front of the drum, a shortdistance from opening 19, the inner edge is formed by a radiallyinwardly slanted portion 82 having its front edge 44 slightly inwardlyof the opening 19, as before.

There may be a slight tendency for the slant of vane 8 to move clothesaxially during a regular drying operation; in such event, a vane of thetype shown at 80 in FIGURE 4 may be provided. Vane 80 eliminates anypossibility of the slope providing any substantial degree of axialmotion of the clothes during a regular drying operation, but sti lretains the guidance featur of the end thereof which is adjacent opening19, guiding the clothes out of the drum as they are moved axially by theskewed surface 43.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what atpresent is considered to be the preferred embodiments of my invention,it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the invention,and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall Within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A clothes treating machine comprising:

(a) a generally cylindrical drum for containing clothes to be treated,said drum being rotatably mounted on a substantially horizontal axis andhaving an access opening at one end thereof;

(b) means for rotating said drum on its horizontal axis in eitherdirection;

(c) at least one clothes tumbling vane mounted on the inner surface ofthe cylindrical wall of said drum, said vane having (i) one sideextending parallel to said axis so that drum rotation with said one sideas the leading side of said vane causes tumbling of clothes wthsubstantially no axial motion thereof and (ii) its opposite side skewedrelative to said axis so that drum rottaion with said opposite side asthe leading side of said vane causes axial motion of clothes toward saidaccess opening; and

(d) means for selecting the direction of rotation of said drum.

2. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein a door is provided for closingsaid access opening during rotation of said drum with said one vane sideas the leading side.

3. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein a cabinet with a door isprovided, said drum being rotatably mounted within said cabinet and saiddoor being aligned with said access opening.

4. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said access opening issubstantially circular.

5. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said one vane has one endthereof adjacent said access opening extending radially inwardly atleast to the edge of said opening.

6. The machine defined in claim 5 wherein said one vane has its inneredge sloping radially outward from said access opening to the other endof said drum.

'7. The machine defined in claim 5 wherein said vane has its radiallyinner edge at a substantially constant distance over the major part ofthe length of said drum, and having a small portion at the end of saiddrum adjacent said opening sloping radially inwardly into said opening.

8. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating saiddrum in either direction comprises a reversible motor, means biased tocause said motor to rotate in the direction wherein said one vane sideis the leading side, and manual means for causing operation of saidmotor in the opposite direction when said door is open and said manualmeans is being manually operated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATEl TS 2,508,034 5/1950 Kling 68-2102,573,103 10/1951 Kling 68-2l0 3,094,860 6/1963 Ferrah 682l0 FREDERICKL. MATTESON, IR., Primary Examiner. A. D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner.

